I need a little help so I can finish parting my 84 Wag

[fdwyer]

I'm pulling the transfer case (selec track) and transmission. The 229 and the 727. Do I seperate them at the front of Tranny cross member support or behind it??????

I was given a transmission that was seperated behind it once before. But this time, there is all the vacuum linkage attached to it. It looks easier to seperate it at the front and keep everything together. I'd like to get this done tomorrow so advice is appreciated.

Also, how will this tranny work in my 1980 that doesn't have the vacuums stuff. Can it be made to work??? Is it a better case than the 1980 ones?

Regards,

[Kimbrough]

Hey fdwyer -
See where the vac motor is attached to the transfer case (its the size and rough shape of a can of tuna)? The bracket that holds it on is where you separate the two. The bolts face to the front of the vehicle. I hope I'm making sense...

I think your tranny is the same as the 1980's models... Should work fine but ya gotta hook the vac lines up correctly and check for vac leaks. I prefer the NP208 or NP 219 t-cases to the 229 because you don't have to worry about vac stuff. A lot of people swap the 229 for the 208. Seems to be a better case....?

God luck!

[Bob Barry]

You separate it after the extension housing that bolts to the crossmember. There are six bolts around the circumfrence, plus there is the vacuum actuator bracket that is bolted to two of the studs, PLUS one of the case bolts on the transfer-case itself:

http://home.off-road.com/~wagoneer/crispy/tc02.jpg

It's a lot easier if you pull up the front carpet and remove the tranny access cover. In fact, it's torture any other way.

Actually, since you're parting it out, THIS is the easiest way:

http://home.off-road.com/~wagoneer/crispy/tc08.jpg

:D

[fdwyer]

Thanks Kimbrough and Bob Barry.

So, I leave the extension piece on the transmission, not on the transfer case. Right?

That leaves the transmission supported on the crossmemember via the extension. Makes sense.

Yes, I tried torturing myself for a half an hour before I took the tranny access cover off. It's ready now for round two.

I didn't think the Transfer case on my 1980 had any vacuum stuff. I'm probably wrong. I was just worried about what all I had to bring over from the 229 in the 1984 to make it work with the existing set up in my 80 (hoses etc...).

What about the selec trac front ends, are they worth keeping? Like Kimbrough said, seems like all the vacuum stuff is just more to worry about and more to go wrong. I don't mind locking the hubs.

Thanks again,

Regards

Frank

[Bob Barry]

You are correct; you could remove the transfer-case without ever touching the rear crossmember.

If you were to use a tranny jack to lower the tranny, however, you couldn't get it on the pan without removing the crossmember, which you couldn't get off without jacking up the drivetrain. In that situation, the best course of action is to loosen the three tranny-mount bolts going through the crossmember, jack up and support the rear of the transfer-case, remove the crossmember, put the tranny-jack under the tranny and support, then remove the transfer-case, unbolt the tranny, and remove the tranny.

I disocovered the hard-way that this is the procedure.

The tailshaft extension housing has to stay on the tranny because it contains the governor and park-lock rod, and you want those protected when removing the tranny.

If you have a choice between a vacuum-disconnect Selectrac front-end from '83-'84, and a regular non-disconnect front-end from '80-'82 or '85-'91, go with the non-disconnect axle. Less complicated, and you can have shift-on-the-fly operation of your transfer case from 2wd to 4wd.

As for the vacuum-system, you'll need the vacuum harness that bolts from the back of the head down to the vacuum shift-motor, the vacuum-harness to the dash-switch, and a feed for that dash vacuum harness from the vacuum resevoir on the firewall. Just ignore the lines going to the front-axle and connect the dash harness to the transfer-case harness.